The present invention relates to an insect lure package, and more particularly to a package containing a plurality of insect lures for use with bait hives.
The raising of bees and other insects often requires capturing of a swarm from the wild which then can be cared for and cultivated in captivity. In order to induce a swarm of bees into a bait hive, it is necessary to use some type of lure or pheromone to attract the bees. Various ways of using lures have been utilized over the centuries from rubbing certain plants within a bait hive to enclosing pheromone inside a wax or polyethylene cavity which is placed in a bait hive, or simply by dispensing the pheromone in the form of a paste from a tube into a bait box. When using single containers of lure out in a field, it often becomes unwieldy because of leakage, breaking of the lures, and the like.
The present invention provides a package of a plurality of lure containers which can be carried together to facilitate handling, storage, and to minimize the leakage of the lure material out of the individual containers. The invention uses a plurality of polyethylene tubes which may be porous or non-porous which holds the pheromone paste for attracting the desired insects. End caps formed of wax or other similar material are used to seal the ends of each of the container tubes. Since the container tubes are held together, the sealing may be done with a single application. Each container tube may be held together by a substance that permits individual ones of the container tubes to be broken or torn away when a lure is needed. Because each of the container tubes are held next to another, the surface area through which the pheromone can be dispersed is lessened and held within the tube until it is ready for release in a bait hive.
In the field, individual lures can be separated from the package by using a pen knive, or simply by tearing away individual units as needed.
Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of a package of insect attracting lures providing a plurality of individual container tubes which are easy to transport and handle and which permit individual ones of the container tubes to be used selectively as needed.